The online network X has sparked widespread anger after individuals employed its AI chatbot Grok to change images of women by stripping their attire.
Several instances have been seen where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to render them in swimwear without permission, as well as to place them in sexually explicit situations.
Developer Response and Legal Position
XAI, the organization responsible for Grok, remained silent to questions, other than an auto-reply response stating "legacy media lies".
A Home Office official stated that new laws is being introduced to ban image stripping software. Under a new law, anyone who provided such technology would "receive a prison sentence and heavy penalties".
"The platform has the ability to stop these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "appear to enjoy impunity."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Capabilities
The communications watchdog Ofcom said tech firms must "evaluate the danger" of people viewing unlawful material on their platforms, but did not confirm whether it was presently examining X or Grok in concerning artificial intelligence pictures.
Grok is a free AI assistant—with some paid-for functions—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to give reactions or more context to other users' remarks, but people on X are also able to edit an posted picture through its AI image editing function.
Background of Criticism and Policy
The chatbot has been criticised for permitting users to generate pictures and videos with nudity and sexualised content, and it was previously alleged to have been involved in making inappropriate content of public figures.
"The platform has been allowing the creation and distribution of these pictures for months without taking any action and we have not witnessed any action by regulators," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own usage rules forbids "portraying images of persons in a graphic way".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was illegal to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and clarified this covered sexual deepfakes generated with AI.
It said services such as X were obligated to take "suitable steps" to "lessen the danger" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to delete it swiftly when they become aware of it.
